The present invention relates to a packaging arrangement useful in the transportation of glass, and other delicate containers. In particular the packaging arrangement of the present invention finds application in the packaging for transport of wine bottles.
The transport of glass bottles or containers containing liquids poses well known problems. Such containers are relatively heavy and susceptible to breakage. To overcome the problems associated with the delicacy of glass a number of packaging solutions have been devised. In the case of wine, cases of 12 bottles in cardboard cartons can be transported. Typically a flimsy card web will be placed between neighbouring bottles to ensure that they do not damage one another. Alternatively, expanded polystyrene packaging has been used for bottles.
In the situation where cardboard carton are used to transport bottles it is the experience of the inventor that the packaging is inadequate in a number of situations and that breakages occur all too readily. A breakage is not only a costly exercise for the owner of the product but is also undesirable from the point of view of those transporting the product. Polystyrene is also undesirable from an environmental perspective and, in some areas of the world, the environmental undesirability of the material is likely to result in an increased material cost as a result of government taxes or levies imposed on such materials.
Specific difficulties arise in the transport of small quantities of wines. The products are typically of high value and mixed selections are often packaged together for transport. Thus packaging has to be adapted to take bottles of varying sizes and to be able to protect them from injury.
The present invention is addressed to this situation and is directed to a packaging arrangement suitable for use with bottles and like containers that provides support against movement during transport for these containers. The packaging arrangement has also been designed to take into account the need to minimise space and weight occupied by items to be transported, whilst being able to be manufactured from materials such as cardboard.
Therefore, according to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a packaging arrangement for use in the packaging of bottles, the arrangement including
an outer carton;
a plurality of supporting inserts within the carton, the inserts being supported against inner walls of the carton, the inserts being vertically spaced from each other and having one or more passage means therein, each passage means being adapted to provide support for articles held in the packaging arrangement and one or more of the inserts being adapted to hold and provide support for articles of different dimensions.
Preferably, the inserts are able to be manufactured from a foldable cardboard blank.
Thus, the carton of the present invention provides a plurality of separate inserts each of which supports a the article. By maintaining a vertically spaced arrangement the inserts can provide support for articles held in the carton at spaced apart points on the article. In the case of a wine bottle the inserts provide support against excessive movement along the length of the bottle. Importantly, the packaging arrangement also includes one or more inserts which are adapted for use with articles of different sizes. It is common for bottles to be transported in groups and in some cases in mixed groups. In these situations the inserts of the invention can be used to support several different shapes of bottle, for example the one carton may contain xe2x80x98Chardonnayxe2x80x99 type bottles, together with xe2x80x98burgundyxe2x80x99 type bottles and so on.
The ability to adapt to differently sized articles whilst maintaining support for those articles is can be achieved by including in the inserts a plurality of tab portions which extend into the passages and which have associated lines of weakness in the insert extending there from. Thus, the passage can be manufactured to a predetermined minimum size and, where an oversize or larger article is placed in the passage the tab portions are deflected to allow the article through the passage but coontie to provide support for the article.
In the case of wine bottles, such deflecting tabs can be provided in those inserts which would support the body of the bottle, that is where the bulk of the bottle is located.
Preferably, the packaging arrangement is provided with means to maintain the inserts in a spaced apart relation.
Advantageously, a packaging arrangement in accordance with the invention for a plurality of wine bottles might include:
an outer carton;
a first, lowermost insert consisting of a foldable cardboard blank, which folds to produce a structure having a pair of parallel channels, an uppermost surface of each channel including three cut out apertures adapted to receive a wine bottle body therein, the cut out apertures each having a plurality of tab portions which extend into the passages and which have associated lines of weakness extending into the insert therefrom, the cut out portions serving to bear against and support each bottle therein and being able to deflect to receive bottles of larger diameter;
a centre insert consisting of a foldable cardboard blank, which folds to produce a structure having a pair of parallel channels, one surface of each channel including three cut out apertures, the cut out apertures each having a plurality of tab portions which extend into the passages and which have associated lines of weakness extending into the insert therefrom, the cut out portions serving to bear against and support each bottle therein and being able to deflect to receive bottles of larger diameter, each cut out aperture having a respective bottle neck locating aperture on an opposing surface of the channel, and
an uppermost insert consisting of a foldable cardboard blank, which folds to produce a structure having a pair of parallel channels each channel including three cut out apertures serving as bottle neck locating apertures;
wherein the inserts are arranged such that each of the three cut out apertures adapted to receive a wine bottle body therein in the lowermost and centre inserts are placed opposing one another and each of the bottle neck locating apertures in the centre and uppermost inserts are placed opposing one another.
Conveniently, in such an arrangement the lowermost and centre inserts may share a common geometry but be placed in mirror image positions in use.